Zootaxa 2201: 12–20 (2009) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Editorial ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2009 · Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Type specimens, samples of live individuals and the Galapagos Pink Land Iguana THOMAS M. DONEGAN 1 1 Fundación ProAves, 33 Blenheim Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7RT, UK
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[email protected] Abstract The nomenclatural implications of Gentile & Snell (2009)'s innovations in the designation of a type specimen - that is sampled and tagged but not killed - are discussed. The paper also responds to Nemésio (2009)'s criticism of Donegan (2008), where I argued that descriptions based on samples of live individuals are valid. I also discuss whether recent descriptions of such a nature involve a different degree of scientific rigour to other descriptions. Key words: Nomenclatural availability, vouchers, collecting, specimen, type specimen, sample, ethics, framework, Code, Commission, Conolophus marthae. Introduction In this issue of Zootaxa, Gentile & Snell (2009) describe a critically endangered new species of land iguana from the Gálapagos islands, named Conolophus marthae. Aside from being an important discovery, this description includes noteworthy innovations in the designation of a type specimen based on a live individual. In a recent exchange of papers in Zootaxa, the validity of descriptions based on a holotype which is not a full, dead specimen (such as this) have been discussed (Dubois & Nemésio 2007, Donegan 2008, Nemésio 2009). Dubois and Nemésio have expressed the viewpoint that descriptions based on live individuals are not valid nomenclatural acts. I have expressed the contrary view. Other recent descriptions based on holotypes which are not killed have relied solely upon photographs and, in some instances, samples taken from live individuals (see discussion in Donegan 2008).